Selected from questions posed to the jazz string Caucus email list. To join the list or to read the complete archives go to our discussion list site on Yahoo.

Jazz Standards for Strings
Dealing With Band Directors
Violin in Band

Q: Jazz Standards for Strings

I am a graduate student in music education and an aspiring jazz violinist doing thesis work in jazz violin at Washington State University. Part of my education includes study of performance literature. My task is to find and learn to play tunes that should be considered jazz violin standards. My list needs to consist of tunes that every aspiring jazz violinist should know in order to grasp the genre (ex: Giant Steps is a monument of saxophone playing). Does anyone have any suggestions for tunes or sources I can turn to?

I would greatly appreciate feedback.
Sincerely,
Melissa Kiepke

A: Renata Bratt:

As for me, my list is always changing, but so far I teach Beginning: All of Me, Autumn Leaves, Sweet Georgia Brown, Honeysuckle Rose, Take the A Train, Oh Lady Be Good, My Funny Valentine, Billy's Bounce, C Jam Blues, All Blues, Black Orpheus, Blue Bossa, Stolen Moments

Intermediate: On Green Dolphin Street, I got Rhythm, Oleo, Solar, How High the Moon, Ornithology

Advanced: All the Things You are, Stella by Starlight, Joy Spring, Anthropology, Confirmation

Mietek Glinkowski, Raleigh, NC:

Few of my violin "classics" are:
It's only a paper moon, It don't mean a thing, I'll remember April, Sweet Georgia Brown, Canteloupe Island (early Ponty recording)

David McDuff, London, U.K.:

Although I agree that a jazz violinist needs to know the standard jazz
repertoire, it also seems obvious that there are certain tunes that have an indelible association (historical, emotional, whatever) with the violin. Stuff Smith's "Desert Sands" is one of them, but so are songs like "Oh, Lady Be Good", "It's Only A Paper Moon", 'S Wonderful", "A Foggy Day", and so on, which Smith made his own in deeply memorable recordings. See "The Complete Verve Stuff Smith Recordings" (Mosaic MD4-186) for many of these.

Joel Glassman, Boston:

Almost all jazz violin players have gone on their own paths.
If we're talking about swing violin, then I'd include the following:
Lady Be Good, I Found a New Baby, After You've Gone, Honeysuckle Rose, St. Louis Blues, I got Rhythm and many other Gershwin, Porter, etc. items. Just about all the famous swing players have played
those tunes. I'd add all the swing tunes from the Real Book
too, since jazz players tend to know them. Night and Day, Satin Doll,
Don't Get Around Much and others are very playable on violin.
Many others are not :^) Add some blues too.

Graham (www.grahamviolin.com ):

There is a shared repertoire of standards for all jazz musicians, regardless of instrument. Any aspiring jazz violinist should know the same tunes as an aspiring jazz saxophonist or pianist. And in the same keys (don't avoid the flat keys!). The instrument is secondary to the music.

One of the reasons violin has been sidelined as a jazz instrument is because most jazz violinists have tended to stick to the Stephane Grapelli/ Hot Club repertoire. Most other jazzers don't play these "Gypsy Jazz" tunes, so violinists end up being treated as though from a different musical planet. Which, of course, they are, if they don't learn the usual tunes.

You refer to Giant Steps, as "a monument of saxophone playing", but really, it was a harmonic breakthrough. That recording also transformed piano playing, bass playing, guitar, trumpet and trombone playing. Even violin playing (listen to Didier Lockwood and Dominic Pifarely).

All the same, to explore Violin Jazz more fully on the web, go to Mark Chung's site:-
http://shoko.calarts.edu/~chung/jazzviolin.html
He has loads of links, and info, and sound clips

Martin Norgaard has a fantastic site you should look at (but I don't have the address right now. Search for something like jazz fiddle wizard)

For a list of standards we should all know, investigate Marc Sabatella's site:-
http://www.outsideshore.com/

I hope this helps.

Q: Dealing With Band Directors

Hello all,

I have a violin jazz student in the ninth grade whose school band director won't let her take solos (or will only let her take extremely short ones) especially when they are at jazz band competitions. He seems to be afraid that their band will be marked down for having a violinist. Plus, he often won't let her use amplification (a tremendous problem for her, of course). She's actually a decent player and improviser. How can I help her out? This is not the first time I've had problems with school band directors integrating strings into their bands.

Thanks for your help on this,
Renata Bratt

A: Jeremy Cohen:

Give me the bandleaders email address and I'll write him a friendly letter and send him a brochure from Mancini Institute and perhaps he will start getting the picture. He needs to know that there are jazz string educators out there who will accept and teach this kid down the road, just as you are now. She deserves the opportunity just as every other kid in the band does.This is a perfect example of where we can have a direct impact on changing the tide. If this band director can be proud of what his band has to offer and present the band to a large audience-the impact is manyfold at once. Please also remind him of Ray Nance, Ellington's lead trumpeter also took many fiddle solos with the band over the years....Don't get me started...just copy and print this letter and give it to him.
Jeremy

jeremy cohen, Co-director, violin jazz, Mancini Institute
http://WWW.VIOLINJAZZ.COM
jeremy@violinjazz.com
510-527-0791fax
510-527-2841hm

David Mills:

When a band director tells me he or she is a purest who only uses acoustic instruments, I point out that the vocalist uses a microphone, the string bass player has a pick-up, the guitar and piano are electric -- so how is the electric violin a problem?

One of my students got to sit in with the Mingus band in New York recently. She had to play through an unfamiliar amp, and they wouldn't turn it up until she was half-way through her solo. Part of the problem is just the abrasive sound of most amplification systems, which is why I want to do that session at the IAJE Conference next year.

If the band has a PA system, tell the band director he or she can control the volume. Use a small amp set at a volume around sax level and bring a mic that is placed approx a foot in front of the amp allowing the director the same control he/she has over the piano or soloist volume. Some amps have direct line outs that can be used instead of a mic. Zeta's educator violin has a headphone jack that remains active even when you run the instrument through an amp. They player can use monitor ear plugs and run directly through the PA. This way you can hear yourself clearly for intonation, and again, the band director can control the sound.

For your student, she may want to have a parent discuss the issue with the band director. There may be some musical issues that the director does not want to blatantly offend the student with. I had a situation with a son who felt he was unfairly cut from the school fencing team. After speaking to the coach, I was comfortable with the coach's reasoning. The coach hooked us up with a private teacher, and now as a sophomore, my son is on the team doing well.

I am beginning to sound preachy. Sorry about that.

Regards, David Mills, The Neighborhood School, Connecticut

John Clayton:

Music is sound. Let the "sound" be the answer to his questions/ignorance. I would make a short list of recordings that display great performances of jazz ensembles with string soloists. I can imagine him feeling "this just won't work in a jazz setting." Let's help expand his knowledge by allowing him to HEAR what it's all about. This might also be good incentive for a transcription project for the student. I hope this helps.
Warmly,
John
--
John Clayton, bass player, Professor of Jazz Studies, USC
JohnClaytonJazz.com

Nicole Yarling:

I think of performers like Ray Nance who was featured on both violin and trumpet and Ray Perry who played both violin and saxophone in big bands and small ensembles and if I had time I could probably think of several others. The violin was a considered a primary instrument in early improvisational groups (eg jug band) unamplified of course because there WAS NO AMPLIFICATION. The teacher should encourage creativity instead of stifling it. Offering recordings and the amplification suggestions were great suggestions.

Nicole Yarling, jazz cellist
NicoleYarling.com

Pat Harbison:

One person who is an outstanding resource here is Janis Stockhouse. She is the band director at Bloomington High School North here in Indiana.She has had a violinist or cellist in her big band for the last 10 or 12 years (starting with Sara Caswell's cellist older sister). Her groups always place well in festivals and competitions and the string players are often the best soloists. In fact, the uniqueness of hearing a burning violin solo in front of a big band actually seems to make the group stand out in a positive way.


Pat Harbison, Trumpet player, Professor of Jazz Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington

Sara Caswell:

hi everybody--My name is Sara Caswell, a jazz/classical violinist from Bloomington, IN. I was one of the clinicians at this years IAJE Conference in NYC, and would like to comment on Renata's email...

From 1990-96, I participated on violin in my middle & high school jazz ensembles. I was fortunate in that both my band directors were open-minded about string participation so as to make me not only a full-time band member, but a soloist along with horn & rhythm players. Of the 16 festivals attended over a 6 year period, we NEVER received a negative comment from judges about the violin. In fact,they usually praised the directors for being inclusive, and noted how they liked the new ensemble timbre & soloing variety. Invariably, our band came home with top performance awards. I won't say this will happen at every jazz festival, but more likely than not, judges will enjoy seeing students of varying instruments participating.

Story: one of my jazz violin students from Indianapolis called last night to tell me about the Purdue Jazz Festival held yesterday(1/20) in West Lafayette, IN. As is typical in high school festivals, certificates & trophies were given to high-scoring bands, combos, & individuals. The top two soloists of the festival, however, were givens cholarships to summer jazz camps. Wanna know what instrument both winners played?...violin. Susan Anderson from Bloomington, IN & Rigdzin Collins from Indy, IN. See how band directors react to that one... :)

If anyone has any question about my experiences in public school
jazz ensembles, or would like to reach Janis Stockhouse, (the director Pat Harbison mentioned) feel free to write.

thanks

Sara Caswell, grad student, Indiana University at Bloomington

Q: Violin in Band

My son's school has a wonderful jazz program, and he is a very talented saxophone improviser (he can play the changes as a seventh grader!), and he practices regularly with his Aebersold CDs and plays when he can in a local jam session.

He also has been taking Suzuki violin for nine years and we'd love to mix the two. However, his jazz band teacher says that anything other than doubling occasionally on the violin would not get a very good rating at IAJE contests, as there is not much knowledge about jazz violin at the judging level. I would be interested to know how to approach this situation.

I was able to catch one of Renata's sessions at Cincinnati (son had master class) and had a great time (I play electric bass), and Randy Sabien is coming to do a jazz workshop at the end of our UNI Suzuki camp this summer. We will also take the violin to the two jazz camps we are attending as a family this summer.

Should we just start practicing the Aebersold with the violin and kind of sneak it into the local jazz jam sessions and hope for the best? I keep thinking that a Santana style solo on a violin would be a powerful addition to any jazz ensemble, but don't want to be pushy, because our program is a good one.

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on this matter.

Stephany Harvey

A: Pat Harbison:

I think this is perhaps our biggest challenge as a group. My experience would directly contradict your son's teacher's fears. At this year's Purdue Jazz Festival the top two soloist awards went to violinists who played with their schools' big bands. As (a non-string player) someone who adjudicates 8-10 festivals a year, I can tell you that ANYTHING that makes a good band stand out and be unique from the other good bands is a major plus!

p.s. I just got the new Downbeat...the one with the 2001 Student Music Awards. Susan Anderson, the violinist from my daughter's school (and a sometimes student of Sara Caswell) received one of the outstanding high school soloist mentions.

Pat

Pat Harbison Trumpet player,Indiana University professor in jazz, IAJE Resouce Team member, post-secondary education

Jen Gelineau:

i think that he should definitely throw the violin in during a jam session. the different sound it gives can only make it more
interesting to other horn players, and in all honesty i think the last thing the teacher should be worrying about is iaje ratings. if he would have fun playing, the teacher should be open minded enough to let him, and the only way for the judges to gain experience in rating jazz violin is to be given a jazz violin to rate. If i were your son, i would definitely go for it.
keep rippin it up on the strings,
jen gelineau student jazz/classical violinist @Holyoke Community College, MA

Adam Davis:

I have had the wonderful experience of having violists
join my jazz bands over the past 7 years and the
chance for the group to perform pieces with that type
of color and texture can be very exciting. The kids
loved the variety and the judges seemed to enjoy the
change also. Hey, if Duke used the violin regularly
(well, sort of), it must be alright/hip. I've also
played with saxophonists who would pull out their
double-reed doubles and that was just as exciting and
liberating.

Being a public high school teacher myself, I
appreciate your concern for not wanting to upset the
program. My best advice would be to take some of the
comments that you are receiving to the director and
explain your son's situation. Putting everything on
the table has always been the best way to handle a
possible "political" type of situation. Also, if your
director is hesitant because he/she is not comfortable
with using strings, then please have her/him email me.
I would be more than happy to help out!

Adam Davis
Director of Orchestras and Jazz Studies
Maine South High School
Park Ridge, Illinois